Rain and waterproof body suit having flotation capabilities

ABSTRACT

A waterproof body suit with an integrated hood, a nose and mouth shield, a torso portion defined at its bottom by a belt, legs portion terminating as integrated socks and being covered with booties having soles, a pair of standard sleeves and a second pair of watertight sleeves terminating with integrated mittens.

This application is a continuation in part of patent application Ser.No. 10/872,017 filed Jun. 18, 2004

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates generally to protective clothings but moreparticularly to a suit offering versatility by being wearable as asimple lightweight rainsuit as well as being usable as a flotationdevice especially useful for fishermen or even hunters.

2. Background of the Invention

Several waterproof suits or rain suits have been invented over the yearsand they can roughly be divided in two categories: Waterproof suits usedto protect against rain or against any types of environment where watersprinkling occurs and waterborne suits for immersion such as emergencysuits used as flotation device by use of inflatable bladders.

The prior art shows U.S. Pat. No. 5,918,314 by Moses which discloses abody suit liner removably attachable to an outer body suit. Glove linersare removably attachable to outer gloves. Foot cover liners areremovably attachable to outer foot covers. A hood liner is removablyattachable to an outer hood. The outer gloves are removably attachableto distal ends of outer body suit sleeves. The outer glove can beattached to the outer body suit sleeve whether or not the glove linerhas been attached to the outer glove. The outer foot covers areremovably attachable to distal ends of outer body suit legs. The outerfoot cover can be attached to the outer body suit leg whether or not thefoot cover liner has been attached to the outer foot cover. The outerhood is removably attachable to the outer body suit. The outer hood canbe attached to the outer body suit whether or not the hood liner hasbeen attached to the outer hood. The body suit liner, glove liner, footcover liner and hood liner are constructed of material which isinsulative and absorbent. The outer body suit, outer glove, outer footcover, and outer hood are constructed of lightweight, waterproofmaterial. In this invention, the suit acts as when wearing two sets ofsuits as is commonly done in cold and wet climates, that is a user wouldwear a woolen sweater for example when it is cold and put on awaterproof suit on top of hio sweater when it rains and it is cold. Or,the user would forego the woolen sweater to put on the waterproof suitwhen it is warm but wet and wear nothing when it is hot and dry. Moses'inventions merely takes that arrangement and makes it more practical byhaving a liner that is configured to fit nicely within a waterproofoutside shell and provides attachment means between the liner and theoutside shell especially for the mittens and such. The liner sleeves arealways inside the outer sleeves when both suits are worn and always workdependent from each other when worn simultaneously, that is when theliner is worn along with the outer body suit.

U.S. Pat. No. 4,038,698 by Smith shows a one-piece rainsuit with awater-repellant outer covering. The rainsuit includes a pair ofadjustable legs and a torso and arm covering. The arm and legs of thewearer are slid into the leg and arm openings and a zipper extendingfrom the neck of the garment to the bottom of the left leg closes thegarment. An additional zipper on the right leg, when open, enables quickinsertion of the leg, after which the zipper can be closed. Draw stringsaround the waist and neck of the garment can be drawn tight foradditional securement. Cooperating snaps on the cuffs and arms of thegarment make the interior of the garment watertight. A face mask isattached to a hood of the garment by snaps and includes a valvearrangement permitting the user to inhale and upon exhaling, the warmbreath is directed to the interior of the rainsuit to warm the same.

The drawback of these inventions is that because their gloves or mittensare snapped on or otherwise releasably attached to the rest of theirsleeves, they cannot attain true watertightness. For heavy rainfall thiscan be adequate but for full immersion in a body of water, this canprove inadequate. Although watertight wrist rings are used for scubadiving dry suits, these devices are rather expensive. Hunters orwoodsmen sometimes wish their could ford a river but if there is toomuch water or if they fall, water can penetrate certain areas of a suitthat is not properly sealed. Because of that, they are limited to whatthey can do even in case of an emergency wherein fording a river is theonly option.

There is therefore a need for an inexpensive, practical watertight suit.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is a first object of this invention to provide for a suit that isusable as a rainsuit.

It is a second object of this invention to provide for a suit that isusable as a waterproof immersion suit.

It is a third object of this invention to provide for a suit that isusable as a flotation device.

It is a fourth object to provide for a suit that is inexpensive andoffers great versatility.

In order to do so, the present invention involves a suit using a thinlightweight waterproof fabric and a unique set of two pairs of sleeveswith one pair offering an open end to expose the hands while the otherpair of sleeves is terminated by integrated mittens, thus eliminatingany infiltration of water at the wrists. For the legs, they are alsosealed at the bottom, ending up somewhat like socks and being covered bytied up booties with soles. The leg part, though, is not new since manytypes of suits, including scuba diving dry suits make use of integratedsocks with booties. The suit is itself a one piece jumpsuit with asealed front zipper, an adjustable band around the waist and userinflatable bladders to provide floatability to the waterproof body suit.The band around the waist limits the spread of air being blown in sothat most of the air stays at the upper part or trunk part of the bodyof the user.

Each of the pair of standard sleeves and pair of watertight sleevesoperate independently from each other, they are distinct and separate.Watertight zippered accesses located at the bottom of the watertightsleeves, just above the mittens, allow a user to draw out the standardsleeves.

In one variant, the standard sleeves and the watertight sleeves areattached to a shoulder part of the waterproof body suit so as to presentarms of a user two side-by-side paths to slide the arms into from thatshoulder part.

In another variant, the standard sleeves and the watertight sleeves arearranged so that the two standard sleeves and watertight sleeves areattached to the shoulder part so that they are one inside the other,thus offering only one path for the arms but presenting a sealedzippered access opening along the length of the watertight sleeves sothat the user can draw out the standard sleeve so as to bring out hisbare hand.

There has thus been outlined, rather broadly, the more importantfeatures of the invention in order that the detailed description thereofthat follows may be better understood, and in order that the presentcontribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are additionalfeatures of the invention that will be described hereinafter and whichwill form the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.

In this respect, before explaining at least one embodiment of theinvention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited in its application to the details of construction and to thearrangements of the components set forth in the following description orillustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of otherembodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways.Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminologyemployed herein are for the purpose of description and should not beregarded as limiting.

As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception,upon which this disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basisfor the designing of other structures, methods and systems for carryingout the several purposes of the present invention. It is important,therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalentconstructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope ofthe present invention.

Further, the purpose of the foregoing abstract is to enable the U.S.Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, and especially thescientists, engineers and practitioners in the art who are not familiarwith patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determine quickly from acursory inspection the nature and essence of the technical disclosure ofthe application. The abstract is neither intended to define theinvention of the application, which is measured by the claims, nor is itintended to be limiting as to the scope of the invention in any way.

These together with other objects of the invention, along with thevarious features of novelty which characterize the invention, arepointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming apart of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention,its operating advantages and the specific objects attained by its uses,reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptivematter in which there is illustrated preferred embodiments of theinvention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 Front view of the waterproof body suit.

FIG. 2 Front view of the watertight sleeves rolled up so as to allow thestandard sleeves to be exposed.

FIG. 3 Side view along line AA of FIG. 1 showing the two paths, one pathfor the standard sleeve and one path for the watertight sleeve as viewdfrom shoulder level.

FIG. 4 Side view close up of watertight zipper to access pant pockets.

FIG. 5 Perspective view of hand coming out of a sealed zippered access.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A waterproof body suit (10) is a one piece suit having an integratedhood (12) with a nose and mouth shield (14), a torso portion (16)defined at its bottom by a belt (18), legs portion (20), standardsleeves (22) and watertight sleeves (24) which terminate with integratedmittens (25). The term mittens (25) defined here for describing glovesas well, whether 5 finger gloves or 3 finger gloves or any other type.

The legs portion (20) terminates as integrated socks (not shown) thatare covered with booties (26) preferably having soles (not shown). Thebooties (26) are secured to the legs portion (20) by lace or hook andpile or any such means. The leg portion (20), though, is not new sincemany types of suits, including scuba diving dry suits make use ofintegrated socks with booties (26). A watertight zipper (30) insuresthat water will not enter the waterproof suit (10) and a tight turtleneck (32) also insures reasonable watertight properties. The watertightzipper (30), besides being watertight, is otherwise used as a standardsuit zipper to allow putting on and off the watertight suit (10), exceptthat when shut, it seals the waterproof suit (10).

In one configuration, or variant, of the sleeves (22, 24), that is thestandard sleeves (22) and the watertight sleeves (24), they are attachedto a shoulder part (11) of the waterproof body suit (10) so as topresent the arms (not shown) of the user (9) two side-by-side paths toslide his arms (not shown) into at the shoulder part (11).

In another configuration, or variant, the sleeves (22, 24) are arrangedso that the two pairs of sleeves (22, 24) are attached to the shoulderpart (11) so that they are one inside the other, thus showing only onepath to the arms (not shown) and look much like the standard sleeves(22) acting as the interior liner to the watertight sleeves (24) thatare on the outside.

In either configurations, the result is the same, there are two pairs ofsleeves, that is the standard sleeves (22) and the watertight sleeves(24), and they perform the same functions but it is within the scope ofthis invention to have two such obvious variants. It is important tonote that, unlike Moses who has sleeves that operate one within theother, in this instant invention, the sleeves (22, 24) operateindependently from one another, that is the standard sleeves are notlimited to being within the watertight sleeves, they can be drawnoutside in one variation or are in fact always separate from each otherin the other variant.

In a first variant, shown in FIG. 1, wherein the sleeves (22, 24) arenext to each other, the user (9), needs to either draw his arms (notshown) inside the waterproof body suit (10) so as to remove his arms(not shown) from one set of sleeves (22 or 24) and introduce them in theother set of sleeves (24 or 22), or more likely, make a choice beforefully suiting-up according to the situation being presented. In thisvariant, when a set of sleeves (either 22 or 24) is not in used, it canbe rolled up or even fully drawn into the inside of the waterproof bodysuit (10). For example, the watertight sleeves (24) can be tuckedinside, since water is not an issue because the user (9) is currentlyusing the standard sleeves (22) with his bare hands (15) exposed.However, when in immersion and the watertight sleeves (24) are used, thestandard sleeves (22) cannot be tucked inside the waterproof body suit(10) since water would obviously enter into the standard sleeves (22).In this situation, the standard sleeves (22) are rolled up, as per FIG.2, and tied by tying means so that no water can enter.

In a second variant, shown in FIG. 2, wherein the standard sleeves (22)are usually inside the watertight sleeves (24), in order to put hishands (15) outside, the user (9) opens sealed zippers (36), (at leastone per watertight sleeve (24)), preferably located at the bottom of thewatertight sleeves (24), just above the mittens (25), to allow a user todraw out the standard sleeves (22) and take his hands (15) out. Thematerial selected for the waterproof suit (10) is a thin material whichallows enough dexterity to the hands (15) even if they are inside theintegrated mittens (25) to operate the sealed zippers (36). Thewatertight sleeves (24) can then be rolled up or otherwise pulled up sothat the standard sleeves (22) are mostly exposed. The watertightsleeves (24) can be tied up proximal the shoulder part (11) using tyingmeans (17). Alternatively, the sealed zipper (36) can be locatedproximal the shoulder part (11) but this requires the user to bend hisarms (not shown) so that it can reach the sealed zippers (36).

The waterproof suit (10) is by no means a diving suit and is mostly foruse in water from the neck down. The inflatability of the suit (10)insures that the neck always remains above the waterline. Inflating thesuit (10) is accomplished by means well known in the art, generallyblowing into a short tube and inflating one or more bladders. Besidesthe belt (18), other tying means (34) situated approximately at kneeheight and at the wrist help control the flow of air so that wheninflating the suit (10), air won't reach the hands (15), so thatdexterity can be maintained by not having that part inflate. Tying means(34) can be laces, drawstrings elastic bands, hook and pile and othersuch means.

Other features of the waterproof suit (10) include other sealed zippers(36) at various locations so that the user (9) can access pant pockets(19) (see FIG. 3).

As to a further discussion of the manner of usage and operation of thepresent invention, the same should be apparent from the abovedescription. Accordingly, no further discussion relating to the mannerof usage and operation will be provided. With respect to the abovedescription then, it is to be realized that the optimum dimensionalrelationships for the parts of the invention, to include variations insize, materials, shape, form, function and manner of operation, assemblyand use, are deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in theart, and all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in thedrawings and described in the specification are intended to beencompassed by the present invention.

Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of theprinciples of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications andchanges will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is notdesired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operationshown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications andequivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of theinvention.

1. A waterproof body suit having a torso portion defined at its bottomby a belt, legs portion terminating as integrated socks, a watertightfront zipper to seal said waterproof suit, and further comprising: apair of standard sleeves and a pair of watertight sleeves; each of saidpair of standard sleeves and pair of watertight sleeves operatingindependently from each other; watertight zippered accesses situated atvarious locations on said waterproof body suit.
 2. A waterproof bodysuit as in claim 1 wherein: said watertight sleeves terminating withintegrated mittens.
 3. A waterproof body suit as in claim 1 wherein:watertight zippered accesses are located at the bottom of saidwatertight sleeves, just above said integrated mittens, to allow a userto draw out said standard sleeves.
 4. A waterproof body suit as in claim1 wherein: said standard sleeves and said watertight sleeves areattached to a shoulder part of said waterproof body suit so as topresent arms of a user two side -by-side paths to slide said arms intoat said shoulder part.
 5. A waterproof body suit as in claim 1 wherein:said standard sleeves and said watertight sleeves are arranged so thatthe two said standard sleeves and said watertight sleeves are attachedto a shoulder part so that they are one inside the other
 6. A waterproofbody suit as in claim 4 having the following method of use: a userremoves his arms from one set of sleeves and introduce them to the otherset of sleeves; watertight sleeves are rolled up or drawn inside of saidwaterproof body suit; standard sleeves are rolled up and tied by tyingmeans so that no water can enter.
 7. A waterproof body suit as in claim5 having the following method of use: in order to put hands outside, auser opens sealed zippers and takes said hands out; said watertightsleeves can then be rolled up or otherwise pulled up so that saidstandard sleeves are exposed; said watertight sleeves being tied upproximal said shoulder part using tying means.